


It's okay, I'll catch you

by assthetically



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: A little angst, Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - College/University, Anxiety, Fluff, M/M, Panic Attacks, Slow Burn, Strangers to Lovers, idk how to tag
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-02
Updated: 2018-04-05
Packaged: 2019-04-17 06:00:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14182404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/assthetically/pseuds/assthetically
Summary: Hyunjin only had four friends, but it didn’t bother him. He liked keeping his circle small. He preferred being alone in general, but that’s not what normal, functioning humans did, but Hyunjin was hardly normal or functioning.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first attempt ever at writing a fic and it's gonna be multi chapter lmaooo. Hyunjin has social anxiety. Also I swear this turns into a hyunmin (seungmin!!) fic eventually.
> 
> The italicized lines are Hyunjin's thoughts. 
> 
> enjoy :))

 

 

Hyunjin only had four friends, but it didn’t bother him. He liked keeping his circle small. He preferred being alone in general, but that’s not what normal, functioning humans did, but Hyunjin was hardly normal or functioning.

 

The newest addition to his circle was a baby-faced freshman named Yang Jeogin. Their friendship was not the most conventional, but Hyunjin decided he enjoyed the younger’s company after several accidental encounters during the first semester, where Jeogin would either be scrambling to find a class, or hunched over a mountain of textbooks in the library, looking about ready to pull out every follicle of hair on his scalp. Hyunjin liked him because he was the only person he had ever met who seemed like an even bigger mess than he was.

 

Two of his four friends were his roommates, Felix and Jisung. He had met them both by chance the year before when they were freshmen and were randomly placed together as roommates. They got on so well that they decided to apply to be roommates again for the following year. Hyunjin was grateful because the thought of having to meet new people never seemed to get any less nerve wracking. He had grown used to living with them, and despite them being too loud and rowdy at times, Hyunjin genuinely liked them.

 

Lastly there was Lee Minho, Hyunjin’s best friend. Minho was a senior, but they had known each other ever since middle school when Hyunjin was a nervous wreck of a sixth grader, hyperventilating in a bathroom stall; and Minho, being the cool eighth grader that he was, knew just the right things to say to calm him down.

 

-

 

_Calm down. Calm down. Calm down._

Hyunjin repeated these words to himself like a mantra between gasps. He had always known how to comfort himself when he got like this, but middle school was an awkward time and lately, anything was able to set him off.

 

_Stop crying you stupid idiot._

He sat alone in the cold bathroom stall counting his breaths as he balled his hands tightly into fists until he felt a sting in his palm that indicated that he was probably drawing blood.

 

“Hey um, are you okay? Do you need me to get a teacher?” A small voice called out from the other side of the door.

 

Hyunjin’s heart stopped at the sound of the boy’s voice, because no one was ever supposed to catch him like this. He wanted to disappear, to stop existing until this moment was gone because there was no way he could explain to another person what was happening to him. Nobody Hyunjin had ever met in his life had been able to wrap their minds around what he went through on a day to day basis.

 

Meeting new people was hard. Ordering food was hard. Class presentations were damn near impossible. Everybody just thought he was shy. He did too, but that alone couldn’t explain how dizzy he got under pressure, or how sweaty his palms would get, or how his heart would beat so fast, he was certain that he would pass out. After several “episodes” his parents finally took him to see a psychologist, and he was then diagnosed with anxiety.

 

“No please don’t. I’m okay. I- I just need a minute.” Hyunjin choked out. It took almost everything he had, but he was just impressed with the fact that he was able to even form a cohesive sentence.

 

He quickly realized that he would have been better off keeping his mouth shut when the room began spinning and he began dry heaving into his lap.

 

“You really don’t sound okay. Can I come in?” The voice was gentle and dripping with concern.

 

Hyunjin didn’t have it in himself to argue anymore so with a shaky hand, he reached forward and unlocked his bathroom stall. The door swung open and revealed the owner of the honey soaked voice. He was small in frame and had soft, almost feminine features.

 

The boy immediately fell to Hyunjin’s side and began rubbing small circles into his back.

 

“Do you wanna talk about it? I know you don’t know me but maybe that makes it easier.” The boy smiled so genuinely at him that Hyunjin almost felt guilty for not being able to immediately pull himself together for his sake.

 

Hyunjin, still sobbing, shook his head.

 

“You really don’t have to do this you know. Don’t you have class?” Hyunjin said after a few deep breaths.

 

“Nope. This is my lunch break.” The boy sing songed.

 

Hyunjin’s eyes went wide and he audibly grasped when he realized which lunch period it was.

 

“You’re an eighth grader?”

 

There was no way. He wasn’t much taller than Hyunjin, and at the time, Hyunjin was one of the shortest in his grade.

 

“Mhmm. Name’s Lee Minho.” He said, extending his hand for Hyunjin to take.

 

Hyunjin rubbed the blood and tears from his hands onto his faded jeans and shook Minho’s hand.

 

“Hwang Hyunjin. I’m a sixth grader. To be honest I thought you were my age” Hyunjin attempted a smile, but it came off more of a grimace.

 

_Did I just insult him? Why did I say that? You idiot, he probably hates you now._

He felt his cheeks get hot. He had never talked to an eighth grader before. They all seemed so intimidating, but Minho exuded a warmth that immediately made Hyunjin feel safe.

 

“I get that a lot actually.” Minho seemed unbothered and Hyunjin silently thanked God.

 

“But doesn’t that mean that _you_ should be in class Hyunjinnie?”

 

_Hyunjnnie._

That was definitely a first. But why did it make Hyunjin’s heart flutter?

 

“Yeah, but I don’t really think I feel good enough to go back.” He said with an apologetic smile while nervously picking at the skin on his fingers.

 

“Then why don’t you have lunch with me? I usually eat lunch alone in the library anyways. It’s really quiet and there’s usually nobody there at this time. Plus, it probably beats sitting on the bathroom floor.” Minho was beaming and Hyunjin wasn’t sure if he felt lightheaded from his panic attack or Lee Minho’s smile, but he nodded and let himself be helped up by the older boy.

 

“Oh, and call me hyung!”

 

And just like that, Hyunjin became Minho’s number one fan. He followed him like a shadow, but Minho never seemed to mind. Minho liked to dance, so Hyunjin begged his parents to sign him up for a local hip hop class. Minho also excelled in every single one of his classes, which motivated Hyunjin to do the same.

 

When Minho went to high school, Hyunjin was completely shattered. Minho had become Hyunjin’s crutch throughout his first year of middle school, and he felt absolutely lost without him. They never lost contact though. For the majority of Hyunjin’s years in school, he and Minho practically lived with each other, switching between their two houses.

 

When Hyunjin was 15, he realized he was in love with Lee Minho. Perhaps he had always known in the back of his mind that he had a crush, but the thought never truly occurred to him until one of his acquaintances came out as gay and it was as if a light bulb went off in his head. It all made sense now. The realization was thrilling and terrifying, but all Hyunjin could think about from that point forward was how soft Minho’s hands were, and how bright his smile was, and how beautiful he looked when he showed Hyunjin new dance routines, drenched in sweat, passion burning in his eyes. It was all too much.

 

_How in the world am I going to tell Minho? Am I even going to tell Minho?_

 

“I’m gay.” Hyunjin blurted out when he was 16. They were sprawled out on Minho’s full sized bed studying as they usually did on Thursday nights.

 

Minho blinked a couple of times as he tried to hide the look of shock, ~~or disgust~~ on his face. Hyunjin’s heart sank.

 

_Fuck._

“Woah Hyunjinnie. Th- That’s really great. Have you told your parents?” It was apparent that Minho was unsure of how to behave in this situation, but the genuine look of fondness and concern remained the same as it had throughout the years.

 

Minho was being the loving, supportive best friend that he had always been, but Hyunjin couldn’t help feeling like his world was falling apart and all he could do was watch. This was supposed to be the moment when Minho told Hyunjin that he was also gay, and that he was just as in love with him as he was. Hyunjin blinked back tears as the realization of just how foolish he was for believing such nonsense began to sink in.

 

_He doesn’t want me. He doesn’t want me. He doesn’t want me._

_Why would I think he would want me?_

_God I’m a fucking idiot._

 

“Jinnie what’s wrong? There’s no need to feel anxious about telling me something like this. I love you no matter what. You know that right?” Minho cooed as he placed a tender hand on Hyunjin’s back just as he did in the bathroom stall 5 years ago.

 

And with that Hyunjin was sobbing. Sobbing because the love of his life loved him too, but not in the way Hyunjin needed him to. Sobbing because for the first time in 5 years, Minho didn’t understand him. Sobbing because for the first time, Minho couldn’t make it better.

 

That didn’t stop Minho from trying.

 

Minho held Hyunjin’s trembling body in his arms despite being half a head shorter than him now, but it only made it hurt worse. They stayed like that for a while, with the older boy sweetly cooing in Hyunjin’s ear while combing his fingers through his hair as Hyunjin indignantly babbled into the crook of Minho’s neck, too heartbroken to care that he had turned into a puddle of snot and tears.

 

“This is so hard hyung.” Hyunjin said, voice shaking barely above a whisper.

 

Minho only held him tighter.

 

“I know. I’m sorry. I love you so much Hyunjinnie. I’m sorry you’re in so much pain because of this. I wish I knew what you were going through so I could make it better.”

 

_If only you knew._

 

Minho went to college the next year to study dance. Hyunjin decided that this was for the better. He needed time away from Minho. He had developed an unhealthily sick satisfaction in pining over the boy who he knew could never love him back and his heart was tired. He would spend his last two years in high school working on himself. Making new friends. Finding new hobbies. Finding happiness outside of Lee Minho. And it kind of worked. Kind of.

 

Hyunjin joined the school’s hip hop team, and through that, he met a lot of friends. Though none of them compared to Minho. Not even close.

 

He and Minho video chatted every other night. It went against everything Hyunjin had promised himself, but school was lonely without him. He missed his best friend.

 

He listened to stories about Minho’s roommates, Chan and Woojin, and all of the shenanigans they got into. He listened to Minho complain about his drill sergeant dance instructor. And for the first time, he listened to Minho talk to him about a girl.

 

Hyunjin knew this would have to happen eventually. He decided that he could live with it.

 

It took some time, but after awhile, looking at Minho no longer made his heart ache. Hyunjin was grateful to his past self for not telling Minho how he really felt, because as much as it hurt to admit in the beginning, there was no need. Minho would never see Hyunjin as more than a friend, and he was learning to be okay with that. Their friendship meant much more to Hyunjin than his own need to get whatever feelings he had off his chest.

 

 

 

 


	2. Begin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yoooo i had no idea this chapter would end up this long, but I had a lot of fun writing it!!  
> Changlix is cute.   
> This is kind of a mess tbh sorry.

Hyunjin was now 19, a dance major, and fucking tired.

 

“Felix I’m going to murder you” Hyunjin groaned into his pillow while rubbing at his stinging right butt cheek.

 

“Do you want me to smack the other one? It’s literally the first day of the new semester, and we’re already going to be late.” Felix snapped back.

 

Hyunjin was lucky enough to have a fellow dance major rooming with him who liked him enough to sign up for the some of same classes as him. Hyunjin was also lucky enough for said fellow dance major, to be a morning person who was actually capable of waking up ass o’clock.

 

He rubbed away the sleep from his eyes and said something that sounded similar to “asdfghjkfoo” before gradually dragging his limp body to their shared bathroom.

 

Hyunjin’s morning routine was simple. After brushing his teeth, he would throw on the nearest clean shirt, whether that was his own or one of his roommates’ didn’t really matter to him. Some time after that, he would turn on and off Jisung’s bedroom light until Jisung gave some sort indication that he was conscious, (poor kid was even worse at waking up on time than he was) and if he were feeling fancy, he would run some gel through his hair. Hyunjin was definitely not feeling fancy today.

 

After settling on his grey university sweatshirt that he had already worn three times in the last week, a pair of black addidas joggers, and a navy blue baseball cap to cover up the tangled black mass on his head, he and Felix were out the door.

 

Why it was required for him to take a beginners voice lesson class was beyond him. He was a _dance major._ And for a reason Hyunjin could not comprehend, Felix was excited.

 

“I don’t think it’ll be _too_ bad. I’ve always kind of wanted to learn how to properly sing.”

 

Felix appeared to be attempting to hide his enthusiasm as if to match Hyunjin’s level of chill, but it made perfect sense for Felix to be excited for a singing class. Felix was a golden boy. On top of being a dance major, Felix loved to rap and make beats in his spare time. Felix was a person who thrived on attention, which made him an impressive and confident performer, so it was only natural for him to also want to add singing to his already long list of musical talents. 

While Hyunjin loved to dance, it was because he felt the most in his element when doing so. Despite his initial reason for dancing in the first place being completely shallow, it was a talent that came easily to him. After years of taking dance classes and participating in countless recitals and competitions, dancing became a lot more to him than simply about seeking approval from a certain Mr. Lee Minho. It allowed Hyunjin to slowly build a confidence in himself that he otherwise would have never discovered. In a way, dancing was a much more effective form of therapy for him than anything else had ever been. It took a lot of time, but through dancing, Hyunjin overcame a lot of fears caused by his anxiety. But dancing was the _only_ thing that he felt comfortable enough to do in front of an audience. Singing was a whole different ball game.

 

Luckily, the first day wasn’t so bad. They did the typical first day of class things, which meant going over the syllabus and listening to the professor ramble on about themselves for a good 15 minutes. Professor Kang was a petite but boisterous woman who seemed to be no older than 35. After her self-introduction, it came time for the dreaded ice breaker games.

 

“Alright class, you probably know the drill by now. Everybody say your name, what year you are, and one interesting thing about yourself. It could be anything, but it’s better that we all start getting to know each other now before your first big assignment!”

 

“Let’s start with you.” She said pointing at a small boy dressed in all black.

 

“Uh hi. My name is Seo Changbin. I’m a sophomore and I like to rap.” His exterior was cool and maybe even mysterious, but there was a bashfulness to him that somehow made him cute.

 

Hyunjin apparently wasn’t the only who thought so.

 

“I also like to rap!” Felix blurted out with the dumbest of grins on his face and a light blush spreading across his freckled cheeks.

 

Hyunjin rolled his eyes. Subtlety was something Felix didn’t understand, but it was an annoyingly endearing quality about him.

 

“Cool.” Changbin said coldly, before looking down, attempting to hide the smile forming on his face.

 

“I like your enthusiasm young man. Why don’t you introduce yourself next?” Professor Kang said, smiling fondly at Felix.

 

Without any hesitation, Felix stood up and bowed to the class.

 

“Hi everyone. My name is Lee Felix, I’m also a sophomore, and I moved here from Australia so I’m not very good at Korean yet.”

 

Hyunjin’s eyes wandered back to Changbin and saw the boy _blushing?_

 

The rest of class went by in a blur of names and faces Hyunjin didn’t care to learn, until it was finally his turn.

 

He recited his introduction several times in his head, careful to not sound too nonchalant, as he wanted to come across as polite, but also not too enthusiastic to the point where his introduction would stand out.

 

Hyunjin’s hands began to shake as he stood up and politely bowed. He felt his throat tighten, but pushed through anyways.

 

“Hi, my name is Hwang Hyunjin. I’m a sophomore, and I’m a dance major.”

 

_Nailed it._

****

He heard a quiet murmer of girls giggling amongst each other before plopping back down into his seat.

 

Hyunjin had never been ugly, but for the vast majority of his childhood, he had always been a small, kind of nerdy kid. This accompanied by his nervous tendencies earned him a lot of bullying and ridicule from his peers. However once high school came around, puberty hit Hyunjin like a truck. He was easily one of the tallest boys in his year, and thanks to all of the dance classes he had joined, he was also pretty toned. Because of this, he quickly became known as the shy, dreamy dancer amongst the girls at his high school. Hyunjin didn’t particularly mind the attention. The number of love letters he would find in his locker every other week was definitely flattering, and it kept any kind of rumors about his sexuality to a minimum.

 

“Dang Jinnie. What a ladies man.” Felix teased while wiggling his eyebrows.

 

Hyunjin only scoffed and rolled his eyes before giving Felix a playful elbow to the stomach.

 

Felix and Jisung were both well aware of Hyunjin’s sexuality, and luckily, it never bothered them as neither of them were straight themselves. Being placed together as roommates truly had to be fate as Hyunjin was pretty certain they were the only gay boys on campus- them and apparently Seo Changbin who was doing a depressingly poor job at hiding the fact that he had been gawking at Felix since the boy opened his mouth.

 

“Alright class. Now before I let you go, I’d like for you guys to get into pairs for your first assignment.”

 

Hyunjin turned to Felix with a knowing look.

 

“Nope sorry bro. Maybe for the next one.” Felix said grinning cheekily as he stood up and confidently strided towards the boy in black.

 

_Fucking unbelievable._

 

Hyunjin’s eyes searched the room for _anybody_ who would notice how alone he was. The thought of approaching someone first was honestly a nightmare he did not want to go through. His hands began to sweat as he began picking at the skin on his fingers; a nervous habit he’s had since he was young.

 

He heard a voice clear.

 

“Hi. Um. Hyunjin was it? Do you have a partner yet?” A boy, not much shorter than Felix asked, smiling timidly down at Hyunjin, who had been the only one in the room still sitting.

 

He had a full face and one of his front teeth protruded ever so slightly more forward than the other which, despite the way it sounded, gave him a boyish charm that made hyunjin’s stomach twist.

 

“Yeah. I mean yeah my name is Hyunjin. I don’t have a partner.” The words fell out of Hyunjin’s mouth before he had time to recite his response in his head.

 

_Idiot. Idiot. Idiot._

_This is why you can’t make friends._

The boy just laughed.

 

“Cool me either. Do you want to be partners?” Something about the way his voice sounded made the hairs on the back of Hyunjin’s neck stand up.

 

“Yeah sure. Sorry I’m not too good with names. What was your again?” Hyunjin tried his best to sound as chill as possible. Interactions with new people always had him feeling antsy and self conscious and he prayed that he wasn’t coming across that way.

 

“It’s no problem. Name’s Kim Seungmin. I’m a freshmen.” He smiled widely as he extended a hand forward while sliding into the seat previously occupied by Felix.

 

Hyunjin accepted and mentally noted how small Seungmin’s hand was in his.

 

His thoughts were interrupted by the thunderous sounds of his professor clapping to get the class’s attention.

 

“Okay everyone. Now that you’ve all found your partners, I just want to quickly go over your project. You will have to be able to demonstrate to the class your basic understanding of harmonization and as well as tone and pitch. The list of songs you can choose from will be posted online later tonight along with the grading rubric, but if you would like to choose one of your own, feel free to email me a link to the song you would like so I can approve. Everyone will have to have made a decision by the end of this week. You guys have a lot of time before presentations begin so make sure to use that time to your advantage and practice practice practice! You are all dismissed”

 

Hyunjin was not looking forward to listening to Professor Kang’s shrill voice for the rest of the semester, almost as much as he was not looking forward to this godforsaken project. The distaste he felt towards his situation was apparently visible on his face as he heard a muffled laughter coming from the boy to his side.

 

“Don’t worry about it too much. I’m actually a vocal major so we got this in the bag hyung!” Seungmin assured while packing up the last of his things.

 

“Oh uh sorry. Can I call you hyung?” the younger smiled apologetically, meeting older boy’s eyes.

 

Hyunjin pretended to not notice the irregular beating of his heart as he frantically racked his brain for a response to give the boy who was still smiling at him expectantly.

 

“Yeah.” Hyunjin breathed.

 

_What the fuck. What the fuck. What the fuck._

_Is that all?_

_Do you even know how to speak Korean?_

 

“Okay hyung! Let’s meet tonight and go over that song list together if you’re not busy. Here I’ll give you my number.” Seungmin said cheerily before reaching for Hyunjin’s hand and quickly scribbling out his number.

 

Hyunjin stared dumbfoundedly.

 

“I get off work at 8, so text me around then and we can decide on a place to meet.” Seungmin said before slipping on his much too heavy looking backpack.

 

“Sounds good.”

 

Hyunjin watched as the younger boy sped out of the classroom, seemingly in a rush, and tried to ignore the giddy feeling in his stomach.

 

-

 

_7:32pm_

“Why do _I_ have to be the one to initiate the first text? What does _around_ 8 even mean? Should I text him now? Isn’t that too soon? Should I wait until exactly 8 when his shift ends?” Hyunjin whined with his face buried deep in Jeongin’s pillow.

 

Surprisingly, it was his first time ever in the younger boy’s dorm as they usually hung out at Hyunjin’s, but today he decided hanging out at Jeongin’s would be his safest bet when Felix had asked permission to invite Changbin over. He didn’t have anything against the boy- he didn’t even know him. He simply didn’t want to be around to witness Felix’s awkward attempts at flirting. He would leave that to Jisung, who was unfortunately not present to observe the two making eyes at each other the entire class period long, so he had no idea what he was in for.

 

“uh huh.” Jeongin hummed from his spot at the foot of the bed, not once looking up from his laptop, which he had been furiously typing away at for the past hour.

 

Hyunjin threw the pillow at the back of Jeongin’s head.

 

“Yah quit! I should’ve started on this essay a week ago. I’m actually so screwed.” Jeongin huffed.

 

“That sounds like a personal problem. Also should you really be speaking to your hyung like that punk?” Hyunjin teasingly snapped while hooking his arm around the younger boys neck and giving him a rough noogie.

 

Jeongin made an embarrassingly high pitched squeal as he flailed his limbs in every which way to break free of Hyunjin’s grasp. When the older boy finally let go, they both fell into a fit of giggles.

 

“Jeonginieee what do I do?” Hyunjin groaned, shaking the younger boy back and forth by his shoulders.

 

“Just text him now hyung. I don’t see what the big deal is.” Jeongin said while reaching for his laptop.

 

“And say what?”

 

Hyunjin flopped his body back into his original laying position and contemplated simply ghosting Kim Seungmin and never showing up to class again. If he asked, Hyunjin could just tell Felix to say that he died or moved to another country.

 

“You’re so dramatic geez. It’s pretty much almost 8. Just ask him what the plan is.”

 

Jeongin was cute even when he was exasperated, but he was also right.

 

“You’re such a brat.” Hyunjin huffed as he pulled out his phone from his pant pocket and searched for Seungmin’s contact.

 

**You**

_7:46pm_

 

< Hey. Are we still meeting after your shift?

_< _ This is Hyunjin btw.

 

Hyunjin flung his phone across the bed, not caring where it fell as it already had several cracks across the screen, before burrowing himself deeper into Jeongin’s pokemon themed covers.

 

He had nearly fallen asleep by the time he heard his phone chime somewhere from underneath the bed. In his shocked, drowsy stupor, he rolled off of the bed, resulting in a hard thud, landing in the perfect position to spot his lit up screen just a few feet away. He extended his arm towards his phone and frantically punched in his passcode as fast as he could, causing him to nearly drop the device in the process.

 

**Kim Seungmin**

_8:13pm_

> hey! :) Sorry for the late reply. I work at the campus café. People always stay past closing lol

 

> lets just meet at my dorm if you dont mind. everywhere on campus closes kinda soon. we don’t wanna be thooose people haha

 

**You**

_8:14pm_

< Don’t sweat it. I was doing other homework anyways lol

 

< Sure. Just send me your address.

 

**Kim Seungmin**

_8:14pm_

> _*random address*_

Hyunjin’s eyebrows were knit tightly together as he read the address over and over again. Something seemed oddly familiar. And then opened his past messages with Jeongin and scrolled to where the younger had sent his address earlier and his eyes went wide.

 

“Jeongin who the hell is your roommate?” Hyunjin practically shrieked.

 

Another chime went off as if on queue.

 

**Kim Seungmin**

_8:16pm_

 

> im not too far but if you beat me, just knock and my roommate will probably let you in. his name is jeongin btw

 

“Your roommate is Kim Seungmin? Jeongin what the hell?”

 

Hyunjin’s brain felt like it was going to explode. This school was too damn small.

 

“Yeah he’s really cool. Wait hyung, how’d you know he was my roommate?” Jeongin said nonchalantly, pausing for a moment from his essay.

 

“Jeongin! Kim Seungmin is my partner and I’m supposed to meet at his dorm right now!”

 

“Oh hey that’s pretty cool. What a small world.” Jeongin said smiling, exposing his full set of braces.

 

Ignoring Jeongin completely, Hyunjin ran to the bathroom and combed out whatever lumps he had in his hair due to laying in Jeongin’s bed for pretty much the entire evening. It wasn’t until then that he realized he could very well be using Kim Seungmin’s comb and _was that creepy?_ His eyes fell on horde of products littering the countertop. There was no way in hell any those belonged to Jeongin. Hyunjin would be surprised if Jeongin even owned any sort of styling product, let alone twenty of them.

 

His prowl around his vocal partner’s bathroom came to a stop along with his heart with the sound of rattling keys at the front door.

 

Hyunjin stayed frozen in the middle of the bathroom like a deer in headlights as Seungmin entered the dorm.

 

“Jeonginah! A friend is coming over to work on a project in a little. Is that alright?”

 

Hyunjin had completely forgotten the way Seungmin’s voice sent shockwaves down his spine, even when he was yelling across a room.

 

“Oh hey Seungmin. Uh I’ve actually been here for awhile now.” Hyunjin said tripping, and practically falling out of the bathroom causing Seungmin to jump ever so slightly in the air and grab at his heart in a startle.

 

“Jinnie hyung has been here since this afternoon.” Jeongin announced.

 

His lack of explanation earned him a bewildered expression from Seungmin as well as Hyunjin’s last ounce of will to live.

 

“Yeah Jeongin and I are actually really good friends. I had no idea you guys were roommates.” Hyunjin said in a breathy chuckle, hoping to God that he believed him and didn’t think he was a crazy stalker.

 

Seungmin’s face contorted into quite possibly one of the most dazzling smiles Hyunjin had ever seen and he nearly had to catch his breath.

 

“Wow what a small world.” Seungmin beamed, looking between the two boys.

 

“That’s exactly what I said!” Jeongin shrilled.

 

-

 

The two of them moved into the living area to give Jeongin some space to write his essay, and despite Hyunjin’s original feelings of dread towards the thought of being alone with the younger boy, the evening was going a lot smoother than he would’ve ever hoped for. Conversation flowed effortlessly for the most part thanks to Seungmin’s cheery and talkative nature, and it surprised Hyunjin how at ease he already felt with the boy.

 

Hyunjin learned that Seungmin was Day6’s self proclaimed number one fan, his least favorite gummy bear flavor was lemon, and that not only was his speaking voice bewitching, his singing voice had to be that of an angel’s.

 

After close evaluation of each song on the list provided by the professor, they both decided that none of them were to either of their liking and decided they would ask their professor if they could perform a Day6 song ~~to the surprise of absolutely no one~~.

 

They emailed a link of the song “All Alone” to their professor, (Seungmin insisted it was perfect for their prompt and that he was in fact not being biased at all), and waited.

 

“I don’t really see any reason for her to not approve the song so we might as well start practicing. I’ll be right back!” Seungmin said, shooting Hyunjin another one of his blinding smiles, before standing up and disappearing into his shared bedroom.

 

Seungmin returned with toothy grin and a large, brown acoustic guitar.

 

“I actually already know the chords to this song since it’s one of my favorites.” Seugmin said shyly and he settled down on the couch next to Hyunjin, adjusting the guitar’s position on his lap until he was comfortable.

 

“I’m not sure she said anything about allowing instruments, but for demonstration purposes, would you like to hear a bit? And afterwards I can help you find the harmony.” Seungmin spoke a little faster than usual and there was an air of nervousness around the boy that wasn’t there before. Something about that triggered a protectiveness in Hyunjin that he didn’t realize he had.

 

“Wow a live performance from Kim Seungmin himself? I’d be honored.” Hyunjin offered a warm smile, as if to try to calm the younger boy’s nerves despite how tight his heart felt in his chest.

 

Seungmin cleared his throat and began strumming, soft smile still present as he sang the first few lines.

 

_“I’m not lonely_

_I say to the night sky without any strength_

_I’m okay today_

_I say to myself over and over again”_

 

Hyunjin watched in awe as the smile on Seungmin’s face slowly faded into a relaxed look of contentment as he closed his eyes, and found himself completely lost in the younger boy’s beautifully dulcet voice.

_“I’m alone_

_under the beautiful moonlight_

_I’m alone_

_Only the cold night air_

_Is by my side”_

When Seungmin’s eyes flutter open to meet Hyunjin’s, Hyunjin swears he sees a blush blossoming on the younger’s cheeks, even through the dim lighting in the living room.

“Wow” was the only word Hyunjin could muster up, though barely even audible.

 

The two hold eye contact for a second or two too long for Hyunjin’s comfort and whatever heavy atmosphere that had been created was soon dispersed as Hyunjin clumsily reached for his notebook and pen, or really anything he could get his hands on to fiddle with so he didn’t have to feel so _naked._

“That was uh- you are really talented. Like actually. I didn’t know you were that good but I mean, I guess I should’ve figured since you told me you were a vocal major, but wow you’re uh. Wow.”

 

If Seungmin didn’t notice how flustered Hyunjin was before, he sure did now.

 

“Thanks hyung.” Seungmin laughed.

 

The two had decided to end the night there as it had gotten pretty late, but if someone had called Hyunjin out for packing his things a little slower than usual, he wouldn’t have admitted it.

 

That night, Hyunjin walked home with an extra pep in his step and eagerness in his heart. Something about the way Seungmin made him feel was strangely warm and nostalgic and Hyunjin couldn’t help it if he wanted more.

 


End file.
